Madden NFL 25's tournament-of-champions cover vote saw its first real-but-not-really upset in the third round of voting as Houston running back Arian Foster dismissed Colin Kaepernick, the upstart San Francisco 49ers quarterback who had been seeded first in his grouping.

By seeding, Barry Sanders' triumph over the newly retired Ray Lewis also should be considered an upset. But really it's not, considering Sanders is widely loved and regarded as one of the best ever running backs and Lewis, popularly considered a belligerent, overexposed personality, played defense.

Among the final eight, Sanders must out-poll Joe Montana, a four-time Super Bowl winner and one of the best quarterbacks of all time, who flattened Dan Marino in their third-round matchup. Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders meet in a tossup that will send one all time-great to the sidelines. Foster runs into former N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson, who dismissed fellow rookie quarterback Andrew Luck. Robert Griffin III, who is rehabilitating torn knee ligaments, will face Adrian Peterson, who came back from the same injury to post one of the greatest seasons in NFL history, and easily dispatched New England's outsize tight end/bro Rob Gronkowski.

With three more rounds of voting, Madden's cover will be announced April 24 in New York, the day before the NFL draft.